Cool - thanks! I think I can easily do that. When you do the protein shake - what do you use? I had one friend that mixes berries, milk and whey protein. Do you have a favorite mixture?

Usually post workout I just do chocolate whey w/1%milk. My favorite though is one I do for breakfast sometimes.
1 cup milk
1/2 banana
a few frozen strawberries
1 scoop choc. whey
2 tbs. natural peanut butter
1 block of shaved dark chocolate
You can add ice if you want it a little more like a milk shake. I also throw maybe a quarter cup of quick oats in sometimes.

Usually with the choc. whey I stick with things like strawberries, bananas, peanut butter and raspberries. If you get vanilla whey then I will use more berries and yogurt. They make other flavors like cookies n cream, strawberry, carmel. I have never tried those though. I get the walmart cheap stuff and stick to chocolate and vanilla.

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Okay - I know I'm probably over-thinking this and making it more complicated then it should be but here goes:

Here's what I've had so far today:

Eggs (2)
Smart Ones Thai Chicken & Rice Noodles
Raw Unsalted Mixed Nuts
Vanilla Yogurt
Totals: Cal: 699 Fat: 34.1 Fiber: 4 Carbs: 85.2 Protein: 41.6

Planning to add grilled chicken & baked beans for dinner tonight:

Total: Cal: 1019 Fat: 40.1 Fiber: 9 Carbs: 114.2 Protein: 65.6

So as you can see I will still need to add about 35 grams of protein and still try to stay at 1300 calories. Any suggestions of what else I should add today to accomplish that? Is this when I need to have a protein shake?

You have about 300 calories to work with. 35 grams of protein is approx. 140 calories. So be creative. You don't NEED a shake at this point. It would make it easy but certainly not necessary.

You could do something like a whole wheat wrap (I think they have low calorie ones) with chicken, spinach leafs, etc.

The possibilities are seriously endless.

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haha - I think the problem is I'm trying to be TOO creative! Guess I could just eat more of the grilled chicken tonight!

I've just never really thought that much about protein - I've counted fat, calories and carbs til I'm blue in the face - but protein - well that's a new one for me to get a grasp on!

Funny huh. People are so carb and fat conscious simply b/c of the phobic pushes the media makes with regards to the two. It leaves people not knowing the important stuff, unfortunately.

I used to be creative and I think for most, creativity is good. It keeps them content.

Me though.... I pick a few meats at the beginning of each week and cook them twice per week. I do some seasoning and love hot sauce. But that's the extent of my creativity. Chicken is always in there, every day. I love chicken. Everything else is a wild card. Some weeks it's pork tenderloin, others it's flank or top round steaks, others it's ground beef, others it's fish, sometimes turkey.... it goes on and on. I try different marinades at times too which keeps me psychologically happy.

I also like to keep whey in house so on those occasions that I run out of meat or am too lazy to cook/eat meat I can still get my protein in.

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Yeah it worked!!!

I kept my calories the same (around 1300 a day), but I decreased my carbs slightly and increased my protein to around 100 grams a day (previously I was averaging about 50 grams). I also doubled my cardio and did weight training and cardio on alternate days (simply so I could spend the same amount of time in the gym but still increase cardio).

So - today I finally decided to weigh and measure and I've lost 2 lbs., 1" on my hips and 1/2" on my waist - oh yes and 1" off my chest but a sacrafice I'm willing to make

All this in less then a week with some very minor changes! THANKS STEVE!!!!

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Good stuff! Glad to hear things are heading in the right direction. Always keep in mind that it's not a linear process, this fat loss thing. Especially when you don't have all that much fat to lose.

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I read through the whole thread! Thank You very much Steve! I never ask or say anything to you because you seem to be bombarded by people doing the same thing, but I just wanted to say, it helps! The body is SOOOO confusing to me, but with time and knowledge,.....I'm getting there! Thanks!

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1. You're welcome.

2. Thanks.

3. Don't ever hesitate asking me questions. That's why I come here. I enjoy discussing this. This isn't my job, lol.

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Well...I'm glad to hear that....!!!!

One question.....after reading through this entire thread this one question still remained in my head:

How many days after you start eating the appropriate amount of calories does your body recognize that the shift in caloric intake has taken place?

I hope I worded that well.....

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As with most questions looking for a specific answer in the weight loss realm, it depends.

lol

Genetics, sex, age, diet history, etc all play a role.

Put it this way though. You're body 'realizes' you're eating more calories pretty much immediately.

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LOL!!! GOT IT!!! .....that makes me feel better to know it happens right away........

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Just make sure you're not confused about what "it happens" means.

If you've been severely depriving yourself for a long, long time, calorically speaking, I'd gradually bump intake up towards maintenance over the course of a couple weeks. Once at maintenance, park there for a bit to let things settle before breaking back into a deficit.

That said, when I'm dieting, just to let you know how acute it will be, I do what is known as refeeds once per week for multiple reasons... one being metabolic rate.

Again, it all depends.

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